Charter
Mission
- Identify and design multifunctional materials and materials systems (heterostructures,
composites, metamaterials), especially micro- and nanostructured ones, which will lead to
miniaturization of various devices by combining various functionalities, while at the same
designed to withstand the harsh high altitude & outer space environments
- Identify the main technological roadblock (or gaps) and possible solutions to overcome
them
- Build demonstrator prototypes of integrated devices using the multifunctional
(meta)material of choice
- Suggest a metric to measure the real technological and economic impact of the novel
materials proposed
Examples of such multifunctional composite structures include:
- Structure Power Composites such as the Lithium Battery Core Program jointly developed by
the AFRL/VS and ITN Energy Systems Inc.
- Thermal protection/radiation protection combined with actuation in the Chameleon spacesuit
from Hamilton Sundstrand Space System International [Gravitational and Space Biology
Bulletin 16(2),p 107-119, June 2003]